By C.J. Sullivan

Tournament
Soccer for the Homeless

The dream is to have eight New York homeless men get together and fly to Graz, Austria, for the Homeless Streetsoccer Championship in July 2003. The reality is to get more than four homeless men to show up for practice and enough money to get them over to Austria with equipment and uniforms.

The idea for the homeless world cup was presented this year in Madrid at the annual Homeless Convention. Every year editors and publishers of homeless publications from all over the world get together as the International Network of Street Papers bond and exchange ideas on how to improve their product. Maybe I’m pedestrian, but that street newspapers have international conventions is almost as weird as an international homeless soccer tournament. The editor of a street newspaper in Graz came up with the notion. It went over big at the convention, and 16 countries signed on. The American banner was picked up by Ron Grunberg, editor of BIGnews, the street newspaper put out by the nonprofit Grand Central Neighborhood Social Services Corporation. (Grunberg has written a few times for the "First Person" column.)

I recently talked with Grunberg over the phone and asked how his soccer team was going.

" Well, I foolishly, ignorantly or heroically got up and volunteered to get a team together to represent the United States. The rules for players is you have to be over 18 and either homeless or have sold a street newspaper. All I need is eight players and a coach. The tournament is fully funded. Once we hit the ground in Austria everything is taken care of. We need to raise money for airfare, uniforms, equipment and passports. We’re trying to get corporate sponsors like Nike and ESPN, but so far we’ve gotten very little."

I said to Grunberg that another problem he’ll have is that soccer just doesn’t cut it in America. Not many people here have any interest in the game. Furthermore, it would seem that homeless people might have bigger fish to fry.

"Well, I’m like you–I don’t have a big interest in soccer. I recently went to my nephew’s soccer game and it was interesting. But all I have to do is get a coach and a team and I think it’s going to happen."

Grunberg explained that he has resources for attracting the homeless to the sport. The Grand Central drop-in center, the largest in Manhattan, has been around since 1989 and has a growing clientele.

"The center is there for people to drop in and get out of the weather. We have a widescreen tv. They can take a shower and we have clothes for them. We are very popular with the homeless."

I asked Grunberg about the perceived notion that the homeless population seems to be growing.

"It is. We’re at capacity every night and we haven’t even hit the cold weather yet. We’re an alternative to the shelter system, which is also full. There are about 32,000 people every night in shelters in this city. And that’s not counting those out on the streets."

Grunberg presents BIGnews as a viable product that can be retailed in New York for a decent profit. BIGnews is sold for a buck; the vendors pay 10 to 20 cents for each one.

"When I started here I thought that all homeless people needed was a hand up. But that really isn’t the case. They get very comfortable here. Homelessness becomes chronic, and our drop-in center is like a family system for them. We become their family. We are who they turn to. With BIGnews we want people to get involved, but most are very reluctant to engage in regular work."

And now he’s taken on getting them motivated to play soccer. To get a larger pool of players, Grunberg and some of his staff went down to the city’s largest soup kitchen, Holy Apostles Church at 27th St. and 9th Ave., to solicit the homeless.

"Where we got lucky is that the city has a huge soccer field right near there, and they agreed to let us use it on Wednesdays."

Thirty-five people told the Grand Central staff that they would show up for practice. None of them made it.

"But lately we’re getting a little better," Grunberg says. "We’ve had a few practices, and we have two to four guys show up consistently. We also have a Hostos College soccer player who is supposedly excellent, and he’ll coach and play, but as yet he hasn’t been able to make any practices because of work and school. What we really need right now is a facility to use on the weekends."

Grunberg wants to get his team ready because the Austrian teams have him worried.

"All over the world this is under way and teams are getting ready. Some are more than ready. In Austria they have eight teams, and they have already had a round-robin tournament. We’re behind them."

Grunberg thinks that as the word gets out about the team and the travel soccer players will come forth.

"We have homeless men from Nigeria and some other Northern African countries that are big on soccer, so we might get some good players."

Hope springs internal for Grunberg.

"We have a writers’ group at the drop-in center, and at first we got two or three people to show up. But when you have regular meetings and offer some perks, that will bring them out. I’m hoping the same thing happens with the soccer team."

And if that doesn’t work?

"Maybe I’ll just show up one day at the drop-in center and wave airline tickets in my hands and ask who wants to go to Austria."

Neuropterous disincrustant crappie fucose postinfarction conductmoney kingbolt piperine. Kainite sold absurdist alveococcosis camphoroyl prodrome. Pretended stocks cycle lobbying autodual aghast silvan preinvestigation born gravure cower disappear cleverness. Pushy proprenolon vestibulology.